Satellite radio is a recent addition to prior forms of broadcast radio. It promises to overcome several perceived limitations of prior broadcast formats. All such prior forms are “terrestrial,” meaning that their broadcast signals originate from Earth-bound transmitters. As a result, they have a relatively short range, perhaps a few hundred miles for stations on the AM and FM bands. Therefore, mobile broadcast recipients are often challenged with constant channel surfing as settled-upon stations slowly fade and new ones slowly come into range. Even within range, radio signals may be attenuated or distorted by natural or man-made obstacles, such as mountains or buildings. Radio signals may even wax or wane in power or fidelity depending upon the time of day or the weather. This only serves to compound the motorists' frustration.
Additionally, broadcast radio is largely locally originated. This constrains the potential audience that can listen to a particular station and thus the money advertisers are willing to pay for programming and on-air talent. While the trend is decidedly toward large networks of commonly-owned radio stations with centralized programming and higher-paid talent, time and regulatory change will be required to complete the consolidation.
Finally, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defined the broadcast radio spectrum decades ago, long before digital transmission and even digital fidelity were realizable. The result is that the bandwidth allocated to an FM radio station is not adequate for hi-fidelity music, and the bandwidth allocated to an AM radio station is barely adequate for voice.
Satellite radio promises to change all of this. A user who has a satellite radio receiver in his vehicle can tune into any one of a hundred or more nationwide stations with the promise of compact disc quality digital sound. By virtue of satellite redundancy, transmission from overhead and transcontinental coverage substantial provides immunity to service interruption. Satellite technology would appear to do for radio what cable and satellite technologies have done for television.
The reception of satellite radio broadcasts are not limited to mobile applications. Home or office receptions of such broadcasts are also desirable. However, such receptions present challenges that impact their fidelity and cost in that satellite signals do not readily propagate indoors due to their limited power. Additionally, a satellite receiver is typically required for each listening station making broadcast distribution costly for multiple listening stations.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a more effective and less costly way to provide a broadcast reception to a plurality of listeners.